Aaron and his brother Kieran are part of the next wave of talented Merrepen artists, following in the footsteps of many generations before them.

Aaron's fabric design is inspired by one of the Territory's most iconic creatures.

"My designs are of the crocodile", he explains, "either the skin, the eyes or the teeth. I'll use earthy colours mostly with the designs, but sometimes I go loud and just experiment. With my second design, I joked to my boss that it should be called The Murder Scene, because it has the eyes, the teeth and the skin but there's a red bit inside the eyes and mouth!"

There is a long childhood association with crocodiles for Aaron.

"I'm just fascinated by crocs through the child spirit story, a creation sort of thing. Before I was born a croc came up to my father's foot and he shot it in the head. When I was born I had a bigger soft section on the top of my head, and they said that the croc had taken me to my parents. It's like the stork fairytale - that animal is you."

This hasn't turned Aaron into a crocodile whisperer by any means.

He shakes his head. "I had one pop up in front of me when we were out fishing once. I was minding my own business and then this croc popped its head up two or three metres away. I think it was eyeing off a kid with his legs hanging over the edge. But it saw me and it took off. I ran up the steep bank and couldn't stop shaking. "

Aaron has been thrilled by the growing excitement around his fabrics.

"I've had pieces go to meetings overseas with important people. I had another piece turned into a wedding dress. You're getting out there and your work is getting showed around the world. I think it's very special."